Combination camp-chair and cane



v Q qhtweono No. 6l7,66|. Patgnted Ian. l0, I899.

u. smml.

COMBINATION CAMP CHAIR AND CANE.

Applicatiofi filed Mar. 2, 1898.)

No Model.)

Sweater URIAII SMITII, OF BATTLE CREEK, MICHIGAN.

COMBINATION CAMP-CHAIR AND CANE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 617,661, dated January 10, 1899.

Application filed March 2, 1898. Serial No. 672,237. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, URIAH SMITH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Battle Creek, in the county of Calhoun and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in a Combination Camp-Chair and Cane; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The primary object of my invention is to provide a camp-chair which can be folded up into compact form, converting the same into a walking-stick or cane, for convenience of transportation.

A further object of the invention is to provide such a chair with a broad seat portion and a rigid back, which lies substantially per pendicular thereto, all of the parts being firmly connected together, so that they cannot become detached and so that there will be no necessity for separating them one from the other when folding or unfolding the chair.

A further object of the invention is to provide means whereby the inclination of the back may be adjusted relative to the seat portion.

Other objects and advantages of the in vention will hereinafter appear.

The invention consists of a chair having four legs, two of which constitute the longitudinal supports, are pivoted to one another at points intermediate of their ends, and are adapted to fold in substantially parallel planes, and the other two constituting the lateral supports for the chair, pivoted, respectively, to the first two, all of said legs being adapted to fold centrally and to lie in close parallel relation one with the other when they are in their folded positions, and a flexible seat secured to the upper ends of said legs.

The invention also consists in other details of construction, which will be hereinafter more fully described and claimed.

In the drawings forming a part of this specification, Figure 1 represents a perspective view of my improved chair shown in its open position. Fig. 2 is a similar view of the same shown in its closed position or cane form. Fig. 3 is a similar view with the covering removed. Fig. 4 is a rear elevation. Fig. 5 is a horizontal section on the line so 00 of Fig. 4, thesameextendingthrough thepivoted sleeve, through which the back slides. Fig. 6 is a detail perspective view of said sleeve, and Fig. '7 is a similar view of the clamp or coupling by means of which the lower end of the back is attached to the leg of the chair.

Like reference-numerals indicate like parts in the different views.

My improved chair is made up of the four legs 1, 2, 3, and 4, the flexible rectangular seat 5, secured to the upper ends of said legs, and the back 6, which constitutes the staff when the legs are in their folded positions and the chair is in its cane form. The legs 1 and 2 constitute the longitudinal supports for the chair and are pivoted to each other at points adjacent to their center by a bolt, pin, or other analogous device extending therethrough and through suitable guardsleeves 7.

The legs 3 and 4 constitute thelateral supports for the chair, the leg 3 being pivoted to the under side of the leg 1 at a point intermediate of its ends and adjacent to the point of connection of the legs 1 and 2. The leg 4 is pivoted to the leg 2 at a similar point upon the upper side thereof. The points of connection between the legsl, 2, 3, and 4 are so arranged relatively that the legs will lie in close parallel relation one to the other when they are in their folded positions. In order to accomplish this, the leg 4 must be pivoted to the leg 2 at a point nearer its upper end than the pivotal point of the other legs. On this account the lower portion of the leg 4 is longer than the lower portions of the remaining legs, and when the chair is in its folded position said leg 4 will project beneath the lower ends of said legs and constitute the bearing or walking end of the cane. It is also necessary that the lower portion of said leg 4 be longer than the lower portions of the remaining legs on account of the fact that the leg 2, to which it is pivoted, is located to one side of the leg 1, and because in order that the legs will fold up in close parallel relation with one another the point of connection be tween the legs 2 and 4 must be higher than the point of connection between the legs 1 and 2. A longer lower arm upon the leg 4 is therefore necessary in order to support the seat 5 in horizontal position. The legs 1 and 2 fold with respect to each other in parallel planes, and when the chair is in its open position the lower end of the leg 1 will lie almost directly beneath the upper end of the leg 2.

The back 6 consists of a bar of wood or other suitable material, having a cross-bar 8 upon its upper end, which constitutes the support for the back of the user. The said back extends loosely through a sleeve 9, which is pivoted to the upper end of the leg 2, and the lower end of said back is secured to a clip or collar 10, adjustably mounted upon the lower portion of the leg 1. The said clip is preferably constructed of a single piece of sheet metal, having a tubular portion which embraces the leg 1, and is provided with a setscrew for adjusting the position thereof on said leg and a transverse arm extending outwardly so that it lies directly beneath the upper end of the leg 2 and has a circular terminal portion in which the lower end of the back 6 fits.

It is intended that the normal position of the back with respect to the seat 5 shall be perpendicular in order that a firm substantial support for the back of the user may be provided. Should it be desired to adjust the inclination of the back, however, relative to the seat, it may be readily done by moving the clip or collar 10 upwardly or downwardly upon the leg 1 and looking the same thereon.

The objection to most centrallyfolding camp-chairs provided with backs which have come to my knowledge is that the said backs are either formed by continuations of the angularly-arranged legs or that they are in some other way located at an angle to the seat. In these constructions the user to obtain any support for the back at all must lean over at an angle, and if he does this it is almost inevitable that the chair or seat will upset.

By my construction a perfectly rigid back which is properly located with respect to the seat is provided, the same being made rigid by its attachment to the longitudinal supports 1 and 2 of the chair. When the chair is being folded or unfolded, the back 6 slides freely through the sleeve 9, and when the device is in its cane form a cover 11 of suitable flexible material is inserted over the legs and other operative parts of the device, the same extending from a point adjacent to the lower end of the leg 4t to a point adjacent to the cross-bar 8 upon the back 6.

The provision of the rectangular seat 5, secured to the upper endsof four supportinglegs, is a substantial advantage over the ordinary three-cornered seat in that it provides a broad seat portion which is more comfortable and in that it admits of the under sides of the legs of the user to bear against the edges of the flexible seat between the upper ends of the legs 3, 1, and 4.. By my peculiar method of pivoting the legs one to the other I am enabled to fold the chair in more compact form than is possible with certain other old constructions which have come to my knowledge, wherein the legs are arranged in parallel pairs at opposite ends of the chair, the members of the pairs having no pivotal or other loose connection with respect to each other.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A camp-chair comprising four legs and a rectangular seat secured to the upper ends of said legs, one pair of the legs constituting the fore-and-aft supports and pivoted one to the other so as to fold in parallel planes, and the other legs constituting the lateral sup ports pivoted respectively to the upper and under sides of the legs constituting the foreand-aft supports, so that they will fold up in close parallel relation one with the other.

2. A camp-chair comprising four legs and a rectangular seat secured to the upper ends thereof, two of said legs constituting fore-andatt supports pivoted to each other at points intermediate their ends so as to fold up in parallel planes, and the other legs constitutinglateral supports pivoted respectively to the upper and under side of said fore-and-aft supports above their pivotal points, so that the legs may be folded up in close relation with each other, substantially as described.

3. The combination with two of the legs or supports of a folding camp-chair, of a sleeve pivoted to the upper end of one of said supports, an adjustably-mounted clip upon the other of said supports, and a back extending loosely through said sleeve and secured to said clip.

4:. In a camp-chair, the combination with the legs thereof and a seat secured to the upper ends of said legs, two of said legs constituting the longitudinal supports and adapted to move in parallel planes, a sleeve pivoted to the upper end of one of said supports, and a clip adj ustably secured to the other of said supports having a laterally-extending arm thereon, terminating in a socket or collar, and a back extending loosely through said sleeve and secured to said collar, as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

URIAII SMITH.

\Vitnesses:

W. W. ROBINSON, C. L. PALMER. 

